Could it be, The Floaters - Float On
I doubt that’s it, just making a crazy guess.
Not a bad guess at all, but not “Float On”.
If I ever hear it in a grocery or retail outlet again, I’ll go into the bathroom and listen carefully to the lyrics. Usually, the acoustics in a bathroom are a lot better than in the rest of a store.
That’s what I was thinking… Maybe The Dramatics?
Heck, if you hear it again, take out your phone and record it. Then either post that here or use one of those sites/apps that recognizes music. We have the technology!
Any news ?
I wonder if it depends on the bassline, because there are 14 kinds of grooves in a funky Philadelphia ditty.
Nah … I tried to suss it out for several days, but I’ve thrown in the towel for now. I go to the same store about once per week … hopefully they’ll play it again eventually. I really need to catch more of the lyrics, and I need to catch them in a part of the store with less ambient noise.
What’s weird about it there’s practically no chance that it’s not a Top 40 hit from the 1970s or early 1980s – and probably more like a Top 15-20 hit. Every other song they play in the store is an instantly-familiar big pop hit. There are no deep tracks slipped in anywhere.
I am starting to think that though the song’s sound is very reminiscent of 1970s Philadelphia soul, the song itself is not a Philadelphia soul act. I’ve combed over that ground pretty thoroughly and have come up empty. Maybe it’s a one-hot wonder act.
Wow – just had a flash of inspiration, and I found the song!
"Jack and Jill", by Raydio (#8 US Hot 100 Singles, #5 US R&B Singles, 1978)
I was mis-hearing the lyric “Love he couldn’t get from Jill”
Thanks for the replies, everyone. Phew – one more earworm conquered!
WHEE!! I was hoping for a bit of good news today! Now we can all get a good night’s sleep, eh? 
I probably heard that song if it played on AM radio in Philly in the 70s. I wouldn’t be able to identify it but that is definitely the sound of the time. Since I was living there I didn’t realize there was a Philadelphia sound until later, but this song is certainly representative of that.
I had totally forgotten about that song! I didn’t even recognize the title but when I put on the video it came back to me immediately. I love rediscovering songs from the past.
Same here. I’ve started several similar threads over the years, and resolved all kinds of earworms from my childhood.